FSpaceRPG article

Ever wondered what velocity you need to achieve to escape the gravitational influence of an asteroid or other airless body? Well, now you can work it out.

This tool works out the velocity at which a craft (or person) would need to have to escape the gravitational influence as an unpowered object (ie no further thrust required when escape velocity reached at particular distance from a mass.).

This calculator doesn’t take into account things like air resistance if present, or the results of powered flight - where the calculations get more complex. But it can give you an idea of what it might take to leap free of a ‘small’ rock, a Mech vessel or for your spacecraft to leave orbit for free space.

The calculation uses the mass of the central object (planet, star, moon, asteroid, rock etc) and the initial distance from the center of mass at which your are either orbiting or standing/landed on the surface).

This doesn’t give you details of the flight path trajectory, given it will be curved initially.